How Do You Measure a Year?
by tango-madison
Summary: CHAPTER 6 NOW POSTED! A 12-part fic following a year in the life of Owen and Cristina. NOTE: All characters, locations, etc. courtesy of Shonda Rhimes & ABC. PLEASE read and review!
1. JANUARY

**JANUARY 13****th**** – Seattle Grace Hospital**

"Time of death: 14:28," Cristina sighed, leaning back on the radiator and closing her eyes as the nurses and interns around her turned off the child's heart monitor and Bailey walked out of the room to give the bad news to the little boy's parents.

"I really appreciate you helping me out, Cristina," Arizona said timidly, starting to disconnect numerous wires and tubes from the toddler's body. "I know you hate ped, but you're the best cardio surgeon at Seattle Grace, and Todd, well… his little heart was growing too big for just me to handle." Cristina glanced at the lifeless body of Todd, her newest patient born with a disorder causing his heart to grow at a rate ten times faster than the rest of his body. Even with her extensive knowledge of the heart, by the time she was on his case he was too far gone.

"It's fine. Just doing my job, I guess." Cristina looked out the glass windows surrounding the room to where Bailey was talking to Todd's parents, and saw the mother collapse into her husband's arms, her shoulders convulsing with sobs. "I can't imagine someone telling me that, so abruptly. It must be horrible," she stated.

"Would you ever have kids? I mean, I know about what happened with you and Burke, and I don't know if you're, you know, physically able to or not, but I know you're with Owen, and…" Cristina smiled weakly at Arizona to cut her off. Sometimes the pediatric surgeon was too eager for her to handle.

"Owen never really seemed keen on the idea, to tell you the truth," she said, rubbing her temples to ease her pounding headache. "Before Addison left for California, I had her check me out, just for… future purposes. She said I was fully able to have a child," Cristina said, helping Arizona clean up the room. "I've always pictured myself with my own baby in my arms," she added almost inaudibly.

As soon as the words emerged from her full lips, Cristina realized that she meant it. She knew she could never bring up the delicate topic with someone as rough as Owen, but perhaps there was some way to tiptoe around the topic. He had lost so much while at war, and she didn't want to risk losing their baby, but there had to be some way to start a family with the man she loved. She walked from the room and headed down towards the pit.

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"Your arm isn't broken too badly, sweetheart," Owen cooed to the 5-year-old girl he was treating in the pit. "I'll just have the bone doctor come over and take a look." As much as he hated dumbing down his tone to a level that toddlers would understand, the little girl's eyes made his heart long for something he couldn't bear to discuss.

"Hairline fracture," Callie said brusquely, walking back over to the exam table with the girl's x-rays in her hand. "Just get an intern to wrap some plaster on her and off she goes." Callie took a double-take at Owen's insulted expression and raised an eyebrow in question.

"I know I may not seem like the most caring person in this hospital, and this might not be the most exciting case, but this girl's scared out of her mind. And she's fine. Give her a smile, at least," he half laughed. Callie stuck a fake grin on her face before grabbing the girl's chart out of Owen's hands, scanning it quickly for her name and other health issues.

"Have you ever thought about having kids with Cristina?" Callie asked, closing the grey binder and pushing a stray piece of ebony hair behind her pierced ear. "Or marrying her? Sorry. This is probably a rude conversation," she said, playing with the hem of her lab coat.

"Rude, maybe. But yes. I have thought about it, a lot. I've always wanted children, and since the moment I first saw Cristina I knew I wanted her to be the mother of them," he said, watching a second-year intern walk over to the toddler with plaster in hand. "But with all her… preexisting health problems" – referring to her ectopic pregnancy with Preston Burke a few years back – "I don't know if she'll be able to do it. Hell, I don't even know if she _wants_ children," Owen sighed. "It would be wonderful, though."

"Dude, this isn't brain surgery, which you've gotten quite good at," Callie laughed, making a few notes on the girl's chart. "Just ask the girl. You love her, I know you do. And she loves you _a lot._" The orthopedic surgeon shrugged and ambled off towards the nurses' station, where Mark Sloan was leaning against and eyeing her suggestively.

Owen glanced in the hallway leading to the OR board, and saw his girlfriend of nearly two years saunter through confidently. Her tangle of dark curls that he loved so much were pinned back into a bun, loose pieces falling gently around her face, and the placid swaying motion her hips made as she walked would turn Owen wild – if he weren't being engulfed in the smell of medical supplies and blood. His heart all but stopped as Cristina grabbed Owen by his strong wrist, pulling him with her in the direction of the nearest on-call room.

"What are you –" Owen was cut off as Cristina pushed him into the room, locking the door behind them.

"I have to go to surgery, but I wanted to do this first…" Her voice trailed off as she softly pressed her lips to his, pulling his body closer to hers by his waist. His big hands traced slowly up her sides, caressing her thin waist with his calloused hands, feeling her shiver before she pulled away hastily.

"You can't tease me like this," Owen murmured, running his fingers gently down Cristina's neck and grazing the v-neck of her scrub top, making her shiver again.

"Seems as if I just did," she said, pressing her lips to her boyfriend's muscular neck and letting them linger a little longer than she intended, before unlocking the door and walking back towards the surgical wing, leaving Owen in a state of hot confusion.


	2. FEBRUARY

**A/N: Thank you guys so much for all the feedback, it really means a lot to me. This chapter's a little shorter, but a lot happens in it - I don't like just _telling_ you what goes on between the characters, I personally like having to read between the lines, and I hope you all do, too. Please continue to read and review... I love you all! :)**

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**FEBRUARY 26****th**** – The Cafeteria**

"I think that went pretty well," Derek proclaimed as he and Owen were scrubbing out of an early-morning, complicated neurosurgery. "That girl is going to make a full recovery, and her short term memory should be back in a few hours." Derek stopped as he saw Owen distractedly use soap on his hands for the fifth time, polishing his hands relentlessly. "Are you alright?"

"Do you think Cristina would marry me?" Owen snapped out of his daze, turning off the water and drying his hands on a sterile blue towel as he looked to Derek. He had been tossing the idea around in his head for a week now, but wanted to bring it up with someone reliable first. Derek was married to Meredith, who knew Cristina better than anyone on earth.

"Are you serious? I _know_ she would!" Derek attempted to give Owen a manly hug, but backed off and cleared his throat when he realized he wasn't cool enough to do that. "Meredith says you're the only thing she talks about anymore. She calls my wife talking about things you've said to her instead of talking about the latest trauma cases," Derek says with a smile as they walk out of the OR. "Ask her."

Owen fiddled with the pens in the breast pocket of his scrubs. "I don't think I should, not now at least. I want to wait until the time is right," he said, looking at an intern couple pulling each other into an on-call room and giggling. "I love her and I know I always will. I just want it to be special."

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The rarest of occasions was upon Seattle Grace. All five of the original interns – Cristina, Meredith, Izzie, Alex and George – and their significant others were out of surgery, done with rounds, and eating lunch together in the cafeteria, hiding from the outside world before having to return to work. Everyone looked at the inedible cafeteria food that was placed in front of them, pushing it around their plates like a science experiment. Cristina was performing a mock skin-ectomy on her rubbery grilled chicken, when Meredith brought her back to reality.

"You know, Cristina really put me in a good mood today," Meredith stated, half to herself and half to the rest of the table, causing a chorus of groans – people were simply expecting her cheesy statement of the day. "Alright, I'm sorry. I'm not used to being bright and shiny," she said, playing with her salad with the plastic fork in her hand and smiling to herself.

"Please, Mer, tell us why Little Miss Sunshine over there is the cause of your inspiration," Alex laughed, earning a gentle fork stab in the hand from Izzie. Cristina rolled her eyes at her fellow surgeon, tossing an unopened ketchup packet at his egotistical head. "Hey, you know it's true," Alex laughed.

"Just look at her, Al. Have you ever seen her so happy?" George snickered when he looked at Cristina's face, the epitome of concentration as she played with what the cafeteria called chicken. "She has a successful career and a relationship that's moving forward," she said with a smile. "I'm glad she's taking this huge step aga–" Derek glared at Meredith, wordlessly wiling her to stop talking. Cristina looked questioningly at Owen, who simply snaked his muscular hand to the small of her back and rubbed in soothing circles, smiling down at his girlfriend.

Something inside Cristina clicked as she looked between Meredith and Derek and Alex and Izzie. "I'll be right back," she mumbled, pushing herself up from the uncomfortable metal chair and speed-walked in the direction of the locker room. Derek playfully whacked his wife on the head for seemingly upsetting her best friend.

As Cristina dialed in the combination for her locker, her heart beating at 500 bpm, she knew she was doing what she desired. The tumbler snapped into place and the door opened, revealing the messy contents of the cardio surgeon's locker. She dug through her black leather purse, finding a round, pink plastic container in a side zipper pocket. Before walking back to the cafeteria, Cristina tossed the circular box into the trash can and didn't bother looking back.


	3. MARCH

**A/N: Hoping this chapter makes up for me not explaining much in the previous one. I'm trying to move the story along here, and this chapter makes me really happy... hopefully it does the same for you :) but, as always, please read and review! Let me know what you like and don't like. I'll try to get the next chapter out a bit quicker this time... thanks!  
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**MARCH 5****th**** – Owen and Cristina's Apartment**

"Owen… Owen, stop it." Cristina and Owen had barely stepped foot inside their modern apartment when Owen grabbed his girlfriend around the waist from behind and began slowly kissing from the nape of her neck to behind her ear, closing in on her lips. The giggle that Cristina tried in vain to suppress betrayed her harsh words. She turned around and looked into Owen's eyes.

"So you _don't_ want me to stop," Owen assumed with a smug grin. He closed the heavy door, turning the deadbolt and tangling his hands in Cristina's thick curls in one smooth movement. As much as Cristina wanted to tease Owen and keep him waiting, with his warm breath on her neck she couldn't wait any longer herself.

Cristina pressed her lips to Owen's violently, her way of agreeing with his assumption. He kissed her back eagerly, sliding his hands from her neck down the front of her v-neck sweater, teasing her soft skin at the space between the sweater and her jeans with her callused fingers. Cristina whipped off her shirt faster than Owen could help her, causing him to pick her up and kiss her with a laugh. She wrapped her toned legs around his abs, letting him run his hands all over her body while she held herself up.

Less than five minutes later, Cristina and Owen had stripped each other down to her matching red lace bra and thong and his dark green plaid boxers, respectively. Owen was toying with the delicate fabric of her underwear with one hand, and holding the small of her back with the other as he kissed down her neck and onto her breasts. Cristina slowly pulled away – but not before kissing right below Owen's ear first, his favorite spot – to get protection from the bathroom.

Cristina sighed as she opened the medicine cabinet, letting her eyes flicker to the waste basket. There was a negative pregnancy test that was nonchalantly hidden under a few tissues; it was her job to take out the trash, and Owen would never know. This was the third negative test in a month, which slightly upset Cristina. She let her mind travel back a few weeks.

_By the time Cristina had returned from the locker room, Meredith was the only surgeon left at their lunch table. She sighed, sitting back down in her chair across from her best friend and looking her in the eye._

"_What were you saying before I got up? You weren't talking to me, were you?" Cristina really wasn't paying attention to the conversation around her – she was stuck in her own thoughts, mulling over the events of the new year. _

"_Oh – you didn't hear me? No, no. I wasn't saying anything, really," Meredith said quickly, relieved that Cristina didn't hear her slip about her impending marriage to Owen. "Where'd you go, anyways? Your boyfriend seemed distraught," she questioned._

"_Swear you won't tell anyone?" Cristina cocked her head to the side, and when Meredith nodded quickly, she impulsively leaned across the table to tell what she'd just done. "I threw out my birth control. I want a baby with Owen, so badly," she sighed, leaning back down and waiting to gauge Meredith's reaction. When her wide blue eyes didn't change emotion, she went on. "I know this is a total Ava move," she glanced over her shoulder to be sure Alex wasn't there to hear her wisecrack, "but if I get pregnant, maybe Owen won't be such a commitment-phobe." Meredith bit her lip, knowing Owen's true feelings, before she reacted._

"_CRIS! This is _amazing_! And you know you don't need a baby to marry that boy," she let her voice trail off at the end of the sentence, wondering if she'd said too much. "You're in love. This will just intensify his feelings, if they can get even more intense," she said with a laugh as Cristina leaned back in her chair, smiling wistfully._

"Babe? Could you come here for a second?" Owen's husky 'bedroom' voice echoed off the bathroom's tiled walls, luring Cristina back into bed. She saw him sprawled out on his back, and immediately jumped on the king-sized bed and curled up into the crook in his side. His arm instinctively wrapped around her tiny shoulders.

"I want to talk to you about something, and just wait until I'm done to respond," Owen said, looking down at his girlfriend lovingly. "I don't think I want to use a condom anymore. And, I know you're on the pill, but… I think I want to start discussing this," he took a deep breath, rubbing her shoulder with his thumb; "I'd like to have a baby with you." Owen exhaled sharply, glad his soliloquy was over – and was honestly shocked to see Cristina's expression soften as her chronically set lips broke into a wide smile.

"Owen Hunt," Cristina said, laughing and kissing him sweetly. "I love you so much. And I should probably tell you something," she whispered, playing with the band of his boxers. "I haven't taken my pill in a few weeks. I didn't know how to bring it up to you, because I thought you didn't want kids." This was all Owen needed to hear – within seconds, he had pulled Cristina on top of him, her legs straddling his hips and pulling her down for a kiss. "Did you hear me, Owen?!" Cristina said with a laugh, her eyes starting to fill with joyous tears.

"Darling, I heard you perfectly. I didn't know if you wanted a baby or not, and I didn't want to say anything that could bring up some… rough memories," he said, delicately avoiding the topic of Cristina's failed pregnancy _and_ relationship with Burke. "But it would make me the happiest man on earth if you would be the mother of my child."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Cristina murmured, her lips a mere centimeter away from Owen's, prepared to pull him into a passionate kiss. "Let's start making our baby." And with that, Cristina Yang and Owen Hunt began their blissful evening that continued all the way through the next morning.


	4. APRIL

**A/N: I'm really sorry this chapter took so long to get out! I've been really busy going to auditions and preparing for finals and whatnot (oh, fun) but I just had to squeeze in some writing time for this chapter. It's pretty cute. Remember, keep reading + reviewing - it's what keeps me posting! Thank you, loyal readers, as always :D xoxox (PS- Thank you to everyone who noticed my continuity errors. To be honest, I slapped this chapter up in less than an hour, and wrote it as I was having a conversation... my mistakes have been corrected!)  
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**APRIL 16****th ****– Seattle Grace Hospital**

"George, would you mind finishing up in here?" Cristina was checking her patient's post-op vitals after she completed his pulmonary bypass surgery when she suddenly felt light-headed and nauseous. "I need to go, uh… check on some more of my charts," she mumbled, making up a weak excuse as she ducked out of the room, the smell of IV fluids that usually enticed her now made her stomach flip over.

"Are you alright, Cris?" George had instructed an intern how to finish up the vitals check and came out to check on his fellow surgeon. Cristina scanned his face and saw he was honestly worried. Aside from the scar on his left cheek, George was the same man he was before the unspoken bus accident – thanks to Mark's impeccable plastic surgery skills. "I've never seen you stop in the middle of a procedure, no matter how small."

Cristina grabbed George's slightly muscular forearm and pulled him into a vacant hallway. "If you tell anyone, I'll scalpel you to death." She took George's wary nod as acceptance of her threat. "I'm late. Really _late_. Like… over a month," she said, half worriedly and half excitedly. "And every little smell has been bothering me, and the surgical lights are giving me headaches, and my back starts to ache after even short surgeries."

"Holy shit, Cristina. You're pregnant," George breathed, his pretty blue eyes widening as he pulled her into a tentative hug, breaking into a broad grin when she tapped him on the back – monumental, seeing as she never hugged anyone back. "You want me to run a blood test on you or do you want to do it yourself? I'm almost positive, though. Something about you even looks different," George said with a smile.

"You do it. I'm too shaky lately," Cristina said, glancing down at her stomach and imagining it in seven or eight more months. "I don't know why. You know me, and you know I don't get nervous or anxious," she sighed, walking with George towards an exam room to do a blood test. "This makes me a nervous wreck."

"Cristina Yang, listen to me," George said as he inserted the syringe into the crook of Cristina's arm without as much as a flinch from her. "Maybe we haven't always gotten along, and maybe you've always been a little, oh, I don't know, harsh to me –" Cristina looked at him with an eyebrow raised. "But you, more than anyone else in this hospital, has what it takes to be a great mom. Maybe you won't be cooing over your baby's stroller nonstop, like Izzie would, and maybe you won't spend every waking moment with the baby, like Meredith would, but you're responsible and smart. You can do this," he said, sighing at the end of his long-winded response. Cristina watched George's perpetually shaking hands smoothly guide the needle out of her arm, putting a flesh-colored bandage over the tiny speck of blood.

"You know, sometimes I underestimate you, George," Cristina said with a smile. "You're alright." Cristina patted George on the back – probably a little rougher than he would have liked – as the action elicited a very un-manly squeak from his mouth. She laughed as they walked out into a busier hall, parting ways as George headed to the lab to get his peer's results.

* * *

A few hours later, Owen got a 911 page from Cristina, instructing him to head down to the nurse's station cattycorner from the trauma center. He didn't know what the context of the message was, so he ran as fast as he could, but slowed his pace dramatically as he approached the counter and saw Cristina serenely looking through a chart. Owen wrapped his arm protectively around his girlfriend's waist, looking down at her, seeing her warm eyes look at a chart. When she felt the gentle pressure of his arm around her middle, she quickly closed the chart and pulled it away from his line of sight.

"You paged me, doll?" Owen asked, kissing the top of Cristina's head as she looked back up at him, her normally pale cheeks flushed a pale rose shade. "I came down here as fast as I could. Are you alright?" He had barely finished his question when Cristina flipped the chart back open, sliding it under his nose on the countertop.

"Would you mind reading over this woman's chart for me? Something seems a little off to me," Cristina said, glancing down at the chart whose name was covered with a post-it. She watched as Owen's eyes scanned the page, reading the patient's basic information first – Korean-American, female, smiling as he saw the woman had the same birth date as Cristina – then finishing reading the chart, looking back to Cristina's anticipating eyes.

"Cristina… there's nothing out of the ordinary here than the fact that she's 5 weeks pregnant," Owen said, visibly confused. Cristina took him by the hand, still holding the chart, and pulled him to the corner between the wall and countertop, away from anyone who might hear. As they stood facing each other, Cristina pulled off the post-it revealing the patient's name: Yang, Cristina.

"I'm pregnant, Owen," Cristina said, her eyes starting to tear up as she placed his free hand on her stomach. "I didn't want to tell you until it had been three months, so we were sure the baby was okay, but I couldn't wait any longer." Owen stared at his girlfriend before allowing his mouth to break into an ear-to-ear grin, tears spilling down his cheeks as he kissed Cristina, his hand still on her stomach.

"Are we really having a baby?" Cristina nodded through tears and kissed Owen as he laughed. "I love you. And I love our child, he or she," he said, running his fingers slowly across her abdomen over her scrub top. "I'll love you a little more tonight," Owen whispered, sending Cristina's heart into a tizzy as the father of her child walked back down the hall, a literal spring in his step.


	5. MAY

**A/N: Wow. Yeah. I'm sorry. It's been (over?) six months since I posted my last chapter... getting ready for college, SATs and school and shows and choir and etc take a lot out of me! I'm going to try to post more regularly, now that I've gotten back into this story. I hope all my readers (and maybe some new ones?) are here! Please keep reading and reviewing... thank you so much! :D**

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**MAY 24TH – The Pit**

"What about George? That's a really dashing name. I know a lot of really smart, attractive guys named George," George O'Malley himself rambled on to a blank expression from Cristina. George had no surgeries on the board, so he stayed with Cristina as she ran the pit with Owen. Ever since he told her the news of her pregnancy, they'd had a close friendship. Cristina elected not to tell anyone except Owen and George about the baby until she was positive it would be healthy – not even Meredith.

"What about you not making up names for a sexless baby?" Cristina hissed under her breath. "I'm only two months pregnant. I don't want to get myself excited like I did last time," she sighed, directing an intern to suture a young boy who sliced his leg open skateboarding. Although she hesitated to bring up anything that would make her think of Burke, she knew that even though she had planned an abortion for their baby, she still wanted to have it – and when she lost it, it was a huge blow.

"I'm sorry, Cris. I think I'm just really excited. More excited than you, even," George said as he quickly cleared his throat, seeing Meredith walk into the pit, scanning with her eyes – most likely looking for Derek – and landed on Cristina. She started walking towards her best friend, and smiled at George.

"Cristina, can I show you something? Really quickly? I swear it won't take long. I know you love the pit," Meredith asked excitedly in one breath. Cristina shrugged, feeling herself get nauseous – her morning sickness always seemed to coincide with important surgeries or cases in the pit. She walked obligingly behind her suddenly anxious best friend.

"What are you doing?" Cristina half-laughed as Meredith pulled her into a single-stall bathroom. Meredith looked at Cristina with wide eyes and slapped a long plastic stick in her clammy hands. Cristina's heart dropped, thinking it was a pregnancy test, but regained her composure as she saw it was an ovulation test – with a pink plus sign.

"Have you seen Derek? I know I should have told you earlier, but Derek and I are trying for a baby," Meredith whispered excitedly. "I'm ovulating right now. I need to be in an on-call room with Derek _right now_." Cristina was about to congratulate Meredith or comment on the situation, but was interrupted by a strong wave of nausea. She made it to the toilet in time for the contents of her stomach to be emptied, sighing and leaning against the cool tile walls and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

"I'm sorry, Meredith. I just don't feel well," Cristina groaned, trying to avert her friend's gaze – she knew that Meredith would see right through her and know exactly why she was throwing up. "I can't believe you and Derek want a baby! I saw him with Owen a little while ago, developing films," she said, feigning interest and excitement. All she wanted to do was lay down with Owen with a glass of ginger ale, easing her ever-present morning sickness.

"Cristina Yang. You cannot throw up in the middle of a sentence and tell me that nothing's going on," Meredith insisted. A moment later, she gasped. "You're pregnant, aren't you, Cristina?" Cristina opened her mouth to respond, but quickly pressed her palm to her mouth as she felt nauseous again. Luckily, this time she kept her breakfast down.

"Seriously, I'll just page Derek for you, I know you need to do this," Cristina said, changing the subject quickly – she didn't plan on telling Meredith about the baby until she was at least three and a half months along, so she wouldn't get anxious. Meredith glared at her pointedly and placed her delicate hands on her hips.

"Cristina, I will make you pee on a pregnancy test right now if you don't tell me the truth," Meredith said while holding Cristina's wrists and smirking. Cristina sighed and nodded, hating to admit defeat yet thrilled her best friend knew her most aching secret. She was about to tell her the details of her pregnancy when Meredith picked her up and started squealing.

"We'll celebrate more later, alright, Cris? I'm so happy for you. I can't believe this is actually happening!" Meredith fixed Cristina's and her own rumpled hair and scrubs, and walked out of the bathroom smiling together – something out of character for the 'dark and twisty' twins. "This is exactly what you need. Owen is thrilled, of course?" Meredith asked, keeping up their brisk walking speed to find Derek.

"He seems really excited, but we're both being cautious at this point," Cristina said, twisting her curls up into a chignon, keeping stray hairs off her neck so she wouldn't sweat – something she'd been doing a bit more lately. "Obviously, if I stay healthy, this will be amazing for us," Cristina sighed happily. "How did you know Owen wanted a baby?" As if on cue, Cristina and Meredith rounded the corner and literally bumped right into Owen. He stopped the two girls, giving a warm smile to Meredith and wrapping his arms around Cristina's waist, planting a tender kiss on her lips.

"Finally, Owen. Nice work," Meredith said with a grin. Owen seemed confused for a moment, looking down at Cristina who was suddenly very interested with Owen's lab coat. He simply laughed, knowing his girlfriend wouldn't be able to keep their secret for very long. He slid one hand around to gently run his fingers over her stomach, and pressed his other hand tighter into the small of her back.

"We'll talk later," Cristina laughed with an eye roll. As Derek was walking down the hall toward the three surgeons, removing his scrub cap after a surgery, Meredith ran towards him without so much as a goodbye to Owen and Cristina. The couple watched Derek's face completely light up as he led Meredith towards an on-call room.

"I bought you a ginger ale," Owen stated as he pulled a half-pint sized bottle from his lab coat pocket, as if he had read his girlfriend's mind. The real trick was timing when she got morning sickness. Either way, Cristina thanked him with an earth-shattering kiss.


	6. JUNE

**A/N: This chapter is... it just is. I've been smiling the entire time I was writing it. Sorry if anyone thinks the story's been super happy so far - a few struggles are about to come. PLEASE read and review. I'm going to be posting much more regularly now, I promise :) I love you. Thanks.**

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**JUNE 9****TH**** – Owen and Cristina's Apartment**

"What time are our reservations for, again?" Cristina yelled from the bathroom's open door, where she was applying cocoa butter lotion to her stomach after a hot shower. In the past week or so, her normally petite frame had begun to change. To people who didn't see her daily, the changes were imperceptible – but to Cristina and Owen, it was quite obvious. Her formerly flat stomach had become rounder, and her narrow hips had widened – not that Owen minded her new curves. Cristina was taking every measure to be sure she would return to her pre-baby body after their child was born.

"Seven thirty. You have over an hour, babe, you don't need to rush," Owen walked into the bathroom shirtless, having only put on black dress pants thus far. He stood behind Cristina, wrapping his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder and his hands on her stomach. "This little baby bump is very becoming on you," he whispered huskily, placing tiny kisses up Cristina's neck towards her ear. Before she could give him an incredulous look at the compliment he gave her, the kisses hit her 'sweet spot', causing her to lean her head back and let her hair cascade down Owen's back.

"Don't… lie to me," Cristina said, turning around so she was facing her boyfriend. Wearing only a black strapless bra and a black lace thong, she felt her heart jump as she and Owen were flush against each other, the skin to skin contact making her temperature rise. "And don't try to distract me," she sighed. "You know I've had no self control lately." Owen smirked, thinking of the numerous times Cristina had pulled him into an on-call room in the past few weeks.

"I think it's kind of sexy," Owen murmured, running his fingers lightly down Cristina's back – knowing that was one of her weaknesses. He knew he had gotten her when he felt her arch her back, pressing herself further into him, and closing the space between them with an urgent kiss. Owen smiled into the kiss, tangling his hand in her still damp curls. "I'm sorry. I'm taking advantage of your condition," Owen laughed, causing Cristina to groan and stop kissing him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Get ready, darling. Even though you already look beautiful." Cristina rolled her eyes willingly, releasing Owen, but not before kissing him once more.

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A little less than an hour later, Cristina was standing in front of her closet, picking the outfit she was going to wear out to dinner with Owen. Her hair and makeup were complete, but she wanted to wear something special – it was the first night that both she and Owen had off work since they found out she was pregnant.

"Perfect," Cristina said to herself as she selected her favorite dress – a deep red silk number, with a deep v-neck, bloused empire waist, and fitted pencil bottom. It had always fit her perfectly, clinging to her frame and hitting her legs at the exact spot to emphasize how fit they were. She stepped into the bedroom with the dress, where Owen was laying on the bed reading a medical journal. With his rectangular-framed reading glasses perched low on the bridge of his nose and his dress shirt unbuttoned at the top, Cristina had to turn away to prevent her hormones getting out of control… and making them extremely late for their reservation.

"Owen, would you mind helping me zip this?" Cristina was struggling with the delicate zipper at the side of the dress, which usually glided up the tracks like butter. As he approached her and held her waist with one hand and zipped with the other, Cristina knew exactly why the zipper wouldn't work. She angrily cursed under her breath, causing Owen to stop what he was doing and look at her.

"I'm fat. My favorite dress doesn't fit, Owen," Cristina said, feeling herself get emotional. "Christ, I knew you gained weight when you got pregnant – obviously – but I'm so used to having this little body… and now, I…" Cristina felt tears streaming down her face, and angrily swiped them away. Evidently emotional hormones and horny hormones both exist during pregnancy, she thought bitterly.

"Cristina Yang, look at me." Cristina looked down, not wanting Owen to see her vulnerability. "Look at me, baby," Owen pleaded, lifting Cristina's chin gently. "You are not fat. You are getting curves, which is what pregnant women are _supposed_ to get," he stated, sitting on the bed and pulling her onto his lap. "Our baby is growing inside of you. He or she is making room for itself and your stomach is getting a little bigger," Owen said as he gently rubbed circles on Cristina's lower abdomen. "You're glowing. You have never looked more beautiful." He wiped her angry tears away with his thumb, pushing her hair out of her eyes and smiling at her.

"You're just saying that. I'm probably crushing your legs right now," Cristina spat, leaning against Owen's strong chest. Owen sighed, lifting her up effortlessly and sitting her down on the bed. "I told you," Cristina muttered bitterly under her breath as Owen went to the closet, grabbed something from the top shelf and walked back towards Cristina, one hand behind his back.

"I've kind of had this for a while now. I didn't know when the right time was to give it to you," Owen said nervously, "but I think it's perfect right now." Owen held a small red box in his hands, and opened it to show Cristina its contents. An uncharacteristic smile grew across her face as she stood to meet Owen's level.

"The first time I knew I was in love with you was when I pulled out your icicle, and you were so strong," Owen reminisced happily. "I kissed you and I knew you were exactly what I needed to become the man I used to be. I thought about you every day in Iraq," he sighed. "I know we went through a lot since I've been back. I'm healthy now, and I know I would never hurt you. Cristina Yang, I am in love with you. I have never been so sure of anything in my entire life." Owen dropped to one knee, holding the box up to Cristina. "Will you marry me?"

No sooner had the sentence come out of Owen's mouth, Cristina was tearing up again – this time, with tears of pure euphoria. "Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes," she all but screamed. Her right hand was wiping the new tears off her cheeks, and she left was held out to Owen. With a huge grin, he gently placed the 3 carat cushion cut diamond and platinum ring on her 4th finger, silently congratulating himself for it fitting so perfectly. "Owen Hunt, I adore you." He stood up, wrapping his arms around Cristina's waist and spinning her around in the air, their lips happily locked in a kiss.

"I couldn't imagine spending the rest of my life with anyone else," Owen whispered onto Cristina's lips before kissing her again, tears beginning to fall from his eyes. "You are perfect, Cristina. I love you. And I can't wait for you to become Mrs. Owen Hunt," he said, putting her down on the ground and placing his hands on both sides of her face.

"I… I'm speechless. When am I ever speechless?" Cristina laughed, wiping tears from her eyes and running her hands down Owen's forearms. "Let's celebrate our engagement," she said, pulling Owen onto the bed on top of her, wrapping her legs around his waist. Owen knew they wouldn't be making their dinner reservations this evening, and he couldn't be happier.


End file.
